Deck with the Devs - "Gods Wa" by Srixis

HiRezJNash

December 6, 2017

Have you ever been interested in gaining insight into how a developer builds a deck? We delved into the strategic mind of Anthony “Srixis” Tamberrino in this first iteration of Decks with the Devs! Opting to go with the Chinese pantheon, Srixis discusses the deck he named “Gods Wa:”

“You’ve seen Spells Wa and Beast Wa for months, but with the release of Recursive Vitality a new archetype has risen from the Chinese Pantheon – Gods Wa. While the deck runs many of the same cards as the mid-control Spells Wa list, the extra board presence and inherent synergy between cards pushes this list to be more aggressive.

The list takes the strong God package found in many other Chinese lists – including cards such as Hou Yi, He Bo, and Xing Tian – adds in the powerful Legendary options the Chinese pantheon has access to, and throws in some strong God synergy cards to fill out the curve and give the deck a higher snowball potential. An unanswered Hou Yi with a few Recursive Vitalities or an early Brontes that gets buffed by Xing Tian Axe can be devastating for your opponent to deal with.

Most interesting card in the deck: Ne Zha. Ne Zha has historically not seen much play due to more favored 3 mana cost cards and his inherently low Attack, but this deck mitigates both of those downsides. It wants a lot of 3-drops to be an effective aggro deck, and it has the ability to buff Ne Zha’s attack every turn with Recursive Vitality (which also procs his Passive ability). The 4 health on him can be huge because it means he has more staying power than the other 3-drops the turn he is played, and he can end the game in a few turns if left unchecked.

The deck can struggle against matchups that can clear your early play effectively or otherwise can control the board state from an early turn. Also, boardwipes hurt. However, as an aggro deck, you play well against slower decks that don’t always interact with the board early, because you get to establish your board before they can do much of anything. With the extra power you can push onto your units, you often have a good matchup against many midrange lists, as well.”

-Srixis

Have thoughts on the “Gods Wa” deck? Tweet at Srixis and let him know what you think! Stay tuned as we ask other Devs about new and exciting decks that they like to play in Hand of the Gods! Have decks of your own that you would like to show off? Head over to the Hand of the Gods Top Decks site to share it! Your deck may even be featured on our Deck of the Week YouTube series with LeTigress!